Thursday, September 18, 2014

Hey buddies;;;;;;;I'm taking leave of this blog until 2015 because I need to focus on writing and music projects. I'm sure there will be some random posts.Hit me up if you want in the meantime: amandarosehowland3@gmail.com or on FacebookRemember: if you want to order a copy of the latest Adanna Literary Journal to check out my short story "Hunger Town", send me an email and I can get you the author's discount.I have another story coming out soon, so look for updates!Also, I will be collaborating again with my buddy Pauline Lombardo on September 29th at Now That's Class! Other acts include Law$uits and Magnetic West. Here is a link to the Facebook page:SHOW

WBH: There
are a few things that I am working on that I am very happy with. Fascist Insect
and Skin Graft 'Workplace Violence' has a really classic badass appeal to it in
my opinion, it always rules working with you and Mitch. In the past year
or so I have worked a lot with Andrew Kirschner on our duo Blackfire, and among
other things we have in production a split with K2 [this is now available!], and a
cassette titled 'Out of Fear'. I just finished up a full-length solo
recording titled 'Twins Decease' that is very sour and angry. David
Russell and I are about to release the first volume in a compilation series
titled 'Ohio', the first volume is incredible. Cory Rowell, aka
Demonologists, and I are working on a full-length collaboration that has so far
been both disgusting and menacing. A split / collaboration with Scant is
in its final stages, which is very desolate. As you know, DPI has returned
as an electronic trio and it has been very satisfying working on new material,
which has been very dark and grimy. Otherwise, there is future work
planned that I am looking forward to when the time is right, with others that
you know.

[note: Wyatt
is my brother and long-time collaborator in Dead Peasant Insurance (DPI) as
well as other projects.]

ARH: Wow - great stuff. We love working with you, too!
You are involved in so many collaborations now, do you ever find it challenging
to find time and energy for your solo stuff, or are you not that worried about
it? Collaborations can open one's ear to new ideas, for sure.

WBH: I am
always running out of time and energy but always in the state of mind to plot
and sketch out ideas mentally. By the time I am able to record, I have a
general map of where to go.

ARH:

When and how did you get into performing? Feel free to discuss any influences and early experiences.

WBH: I was 11
or 12 when I started going to see your bands play shows. This was really
exciting to me, teenagers putting on these hardcore shows with little to no
adult supervision. The DIY aspect of hardcore was very inspiring.
Growing up watching our father play in bands, the idea of playing in a band
meant having a more professional attitude, trying to sound as good as possible
and exercising talent and hard work. Your bands sounded like shit and
everyone had a bad attitude and hated each other. I loved that.

ARH: Ah yes, thank you--you are describing a quality and values that I'm
proud to have maintained with integrity over the last twenty years.

Since you’ve started performing, have you noticed repeating
cycles in terms of style and energy of experimental music? How would you
describe the current zeitgeist?

What qualities excite you in performances of others? What takes
you by surprise and keeps your interest in experimental music?

WBH: I've
definitely noticed a severe mutation in the music culture. Things are
much bigger in all ways than they were when we started, like a swelling cyst.
There are definitely parallels to what I've read about the original industrial
music culture of the 1970s and the current underground electronic culture.

For me,
the most important quality to music and live performance is conviction.
There are certain sounds and styles that I am attracted to: dark inhuman tones,
unmusical textures. The last performances I was startled by were Gerritt
Wittmer and Shrive, and I couldn't tell you why honestly... Generally
speaking I am more excited by sets with no visual stimulus and don't like to
watch people work. I can appreciate all aspects of music when done well,
but for me to take it seriously, rhythm and melody generally can fuck off.

ARH: Does language factor in your creative process?

WBH: It has
more in the past. I used to come up with a title and work around what I
could do thematically with it. Lately titles are more of an afterthought
and hassle for me, because I have been moving in a more abstract and inhuman
direction and am less language oriented than I used to be. But techniques
are always changing.

ARH: Do you feel performing is a mystical act and/or ritual? How
would you describe the performing process in terms of mental, physical and
emotional transformation?

WBH: Performance
is generally confined to 'binge and purge' for me. For example, I'll take
in a bunch of other people's horseshit all day at work and then vomit it out
through the p.a. system. I generally play better if I'm in a rotten
mood. I don't have any rituals at the moment. Sometimes I reflect on
bad memories until I reach a high level of anxiety, but sometimes that’s not
necessary.

ARH: What do you think the future holds for you as an
individual artist and experimental music generally? What is the relationship
between local and global experimental music now?

WBH: The
future of experimental music is looking pretty bad-ass. Even if everyone
involved decided to quit tomorrow, there are still way more albums then anyone
could ever listen to in a lifetime, so fuck it. And if that's not enough,
make some more. As for the relationship between local and global, at the
moment there is one major setback, and that is the decline of the postal
system, which is hurting the cassette culture that most of us have a fetish
for. Physical media and folk art are being pushed away, which to a degree
is something that we'll have to adapt to. On the other hand, the internet
has opened the door wide open for people to travel and book tours easily as
well as easily communicate with like minded people so the connections are
getting tighter.

Friday, September 5, 2014

Hello Friends,Fascist Insect will be playing with our new line-up as a three piece TONIGHT! (Friday, September 5) at Guide to Kulchur.CHECK OUT THE FACEBOOK EVENT HEREThis marks a return to thrash/grindcore roots and return of drummer Pumpkin Mask! We will be opening up for Wild Gone Girls. Jason Rodriguez and others will be playing as well.I'm honored to announce my story "Hunger Town" will be appearing in the upcoming issue of Adanna Literary Journal!You can check them out here:ADANNA LITERARY JOURNALPlease email me for information about buying an issue at my author's 25% off discount: amandarosehowland3@gmail.comLove,Amanda

Tuesday, September 2, 2014

Richard Rodriguez plays bass, guitar, drums and vocals. He is in
Real Regular and has played in Lucha Eterna, Obnox, What A Waste, BxVx, Fascist
Insect, Ghostbread, Paint Chips, Tuck Peenersen and his Weinermen, Burger Boys,
and more. His label is Saucepan Records:

ARH: Hello, Richard! So, what are you working on this summer? Are there any upcoming shows you're excited about? I heard you're cooking
at Class and you have a new label--what's going on with that stuff?

RR: This summer I'm doing more recording and releasing than actually
playing out. It's not necessarily ideal, but that's just kinda how it's turning
out. Today I actually got test presses for the Lucha Eterna 7" that I'm
putting out on my label Saucepan Records. Coincidentally I also got the final
copies of the Real Regular 12" today as well. I'm really excited about
both releases and the response they have both been getting from everyone. I
have a few other releases in the works as well. The Fat Vegan tape "Music
To Eat Tofu To" is done and will be available soon. I also have a Bad
Noids 7" and Mr. California 7" in the works as well so I'm keeping
myself pretty busy. There's always a show I wanna see, but a few that have me
really excited are Infest and the West Side Punk Connect Fest with Los Crudos.
Both great shows showcasing the best in punk and hardcore. I'm losing my mind,
I can't wait.

So, yeah, I also make food every Wednesday night at Now That's
Class. I make pupusas, which are a
traditional Salvadoran dish that's essentially a stuffed tortilla with beans,
cheese, and minced pork. I change it up and add different meat options every
week. It’s going great! People are coming out of the woodwork, sometimes just
to eat my food and that means a lot because I honestly didn't know how well
this would go when I first started back in January. Started out a little rough,
but I know its gotten a lot better and I'll be adding other options (tamales, vegan
options, etc.) real soon.

ARH: Wow, we'll have to come out and get some of your food! I love
Now That's Class--there is no place like it. Are those two shows at Class?
That's cool you're doing so much recording. Do you have a site or something
where people can buy that stuff? I've also been recording more the last year
after years of focusing on performing. I feel like recording and performing are
totally different art forms. For me, they come from such different points of
inspiration and require different compositional approaches. What do you think?
I imagine for some genres recording and performing may be closer. As someone
who's worked in different genres, do you find that to be true?

RR: Both shows are in fact at Now That's Class. I'm involved a lot
more with that place these days its pretty cool. I’m still trying to set up the
online store/mail order stuff. It’s a bit of a pain haha but it needs to be
done a.s.a.p. because by mid August I will have a decent amount of releases
ready to go.

I completely agree with recording and performing being two very
different outputs. On the one hand you have a medium that can be done over and
over again with many different layers to sound the way you want it to sound at
home on someone's stereo. It can take hours to days on end. On the other hand
is the performance that doesn't necessarily have to be anything like the record
at all. When I was in Obnox we stripped down the blown out multi-drum layered
psych rock recordings to fit a two-piece outfit when we played live. Then there
are punk and hardcore bands/songs/records that try to stick as close to the
recordings as possible. I think different genres have more wiggle room to
experiment with that others have or choose to use. That said, I personally
enjoy doing both and am always willing to experiment with a live setting and
have no problem with steering away from what's expected.

ARH: When and how did you get into performing? Since you’ve started
performing, have you noticed repeating cycles in terms of style and energy? How
would you describe the current zeitgeist?

RR: First began performing about five or six years ago with What A Waste
and Fascist Insect. Regardless of what anyone else may have thought of those
bands at the time, I had a blast playing live almost every time. My only
influences at the time were bands like Black Flag or The Ramones. Now, mind
you, obviously nothing I was playing sounded ANYTHING like either of those two
bands, but my point is that I wanted to play as simple and as aggressive as I could
at the same time. That's still somewhat the formula for any band I still do to
this day. It's totally a repeating cycle no matter what instrument I'm playing.
Three chords on the guitar and no drum rolls/fills ever. Just meat and
potatoes, it's what I enjoy and what I feel most comfortable playing. Not that I
haven't ventured out of my comfort zone, but I just always come back. It just
feels right.

ARH: I hear you. Anything else coming up you are excited about?

RR: Well since starting this interview the Real Regular LP has been
released and people seem to be liking it a lot so that's pretty exciting haha.
The new Lucha Eterna 7" will officially be out in two weeks and I have a
couple of new projects that are about ready to perform in a seedy basement near
you! I have since taken on new releases for Saucepan Records so I think 2015 is
looking pretty bright for the label, I can't wait!

Monday, August 18, 2014

Bob Brinkman, formerly of Sin Nombre, plays bass in the heavy
minimalist metal band Bridesmaid with drummer Cory Barnt and bassist Scott
Hyatt, and now new drummer Ricky Thompson. Thompson is also Brinkman’s bandmate
in Drose, along with Dustin Rose and John Mengerink. Bridesmaid spend most of their time helping out other touring bands,
playing shows around the East Coast and Midwest and trying to write new riffs.
There’s really nothing else motivating the music other than a love of riffs and
amplifiers.

Bridesmaid will be playing at Now That’s Class Friday, August 29th
with Moutheater, Wasted Jaw and Tithe:

(Bridesmaid and Drose links can be found within the text of the
interview.)

ARH: Hi Bob! What’s it like playing with two drummers? How are
the logistics?

BB: Two drummers is going well.We still aren't sure if we are going to keep it at two or go back to
one.Stage space is a concern,
especially with our bass rigs. The other issue is that the songs are all
written with one drummer so we aren't really exploiting it to its fullest.
Figuring out how to make sure it's interesting will be the big challenge.Either way it will definitely be heavier. And
we wouldn't go back to one until Cory moves. It will be two for sure until he
leaves Ohio.

ARH: I didn't realize Cory is moving--that's too bad. I hope I
get to see you guys while you have two drummers. I admire Bridesmaid for its
intense balance of minimalism and volume. You guys have stripped metal down to
its very essence, and the primal rhythms interplay in a way that is so
compelling; it's one of the few bands I could put on for just about any guest
and know they'll dig it. What kinds of bands were you guys in before you formed
Bridesmaid and what are your biggest influences?

BB Thank you very much, that is one of the nicest things anyone
has said about us.

Cory and I were in our first band together, Suburban Mayhem,
along with Jake from Sun Splitter.It
sounded like everyone's high school punk band, I suppose.I met Scott when he was in a death metal band
called Locusta, I was playing in a more straightforward Stoner Metal band
called Sin Nombre.Initially I wanted to
start something that was in line with bands like Hyatari or 5ive (the Boston
band, not the boy band) and I knew Scott was into some noise stuff and shared
my love of amplifiers. The song "Francis with Wolves" off the last
album most closely follows my original vision of the band.

As we wrote and evolved, it turned in to a more riff oriented
type of music, which I also like.We
listen to a wide variety of music with only a few overlaps and seem to all
approach writing differently. Cory's influence and sensibility for stringing
parts together will be missed for sure, but I know Ricky the new drummer is
also an accomplished songwriter as well.Some of the biggest influences were people like Mitch and Aaron Vilk
asking us to play out of town shows early on, it inspired me to see how far we
can push the band when it came to touring, making new friends in different
cities and getting our music heard by people that may enjoy it.

ARH: That's cool that Mitch and Aaron drew you guys out, I
didn't realize that. I agree that listening to a wide variety of music opens
everything up, especially now that music is often fragmented into all these
little niches. I do see both more separation and more crossover, if that makes
sense. But I know when I'm working on stuff, it helps to listen to a little
Faangface, a little Nina Simone, some Black Flag, just to hear what weird
little phrases, sounds and rhythms peek through. Likewise, it's inspiring to
work with people who are listening to different stuff. Mitch and I have been
working together the last six months, and we are each usually listening to
different things, sometimes within earshot of each other! Can you tell me about
some of your upcoming shows that you're excited about? You're coming to
Cleveland soon, right?

BB: Yeah, we are doing five shows in August with two drummers,
which will be a lot of fun for us.We've
never played Milwaukee before and that will be one of the shows. There's a fun
show coming up in September, too, but the lineup hasn't been announced yet so I
can't spill the beans on that just now.

ARH: Cool--looks like you've got some great shows coming up! Can
you tell me a little about the Columbus music scene? I haven't spent much time
down there in a long time.

BB Columbus is pretty good for shows, most of the music I deal with
centers around Carabar or Ace of Cups.Both bars treat the bands really well and do a lot of great shows.There's still a reasonably active house
scene, but I am not as involved in that. A lot of the stuff that would have
happened at the punk houses has shifted over to Cafe Bourbon Street/The Summit.They are two venues hooked onto each other,
the Summit being the bigger one. Kevin that runs things around there seems to
really care about putting on shows as well.

The local bands are all really good about supporting touring
acts, things like giving all the money to them, that sort of thing.Lately I have been digging on Messrs,
Northern Widows, and Earthburner.I
haven't seen Southern State live yet, but they practice in the same warehouse
and have sounded really good from what I have heard, so I need to check them
out too.Lo Pan always puts on a great
show as well, and their hard work has been paying off over the past couple of
years.

ARH: Wow thanks for the information--that's a lot of cool stuff
to check out. Oh hey, can you tell me about Drose? I hear that project is
pretty sweet.

BB: Drose should be playing in Cleveland in September, and I
agree that it's pretty sweet! So much so that I asked to join the band.Originally it was a three piece, but the
guitar player quit.I told them if they
got desperate enough to replace him with a bass player to count me in.

They ended up pulling Ricky Thomson, the new drummer for
Bridesmaid, in for guitar and me on bass upping it to a four piece.The drummer just moved to Cleveland while his
girlfriend finishes up grad school, so we won't be doing a ton of stuff.Dustin writes it all and is currently
finishing up another album, we'll see what happens with it.The second song on this 7-inch is really what
made me fall in love with the band and want to join.

ARH: Yeah, man that shit is good and heavy. Drose has been
pretty active with Murdered Man, right? I get excited about bands that are both
energetically passionate and making interesting choices in composition because
for years my band (DPI) would play with solo noise performers because most
band scenes were too codified. So, I love to see Bridesmaid, Murdered Man and Drose
joining earlier heavy and interesting bands such as Jerk, Clan of the Cave
Bear, Fascist Insect and Hair Police. Can you speak at all to the experience of
creative choices made as a band, as opposed to an artist working alone?

BB: I think being in a band is a real good way to keep your ego
in check, I can throw out every idea I have and I receive instant feed back
from the other members as to if it is a good one or a bad one. Whereas, if I
was going it alone I wouldn't get it.Plus most of the fun, for me, in being in a band are those random giggle
fits with your friends at some rest stop in the middle of nowhere and meeting
other people that care about making music and having fun then looking at their
pet photos on Facebook, shout out to Nick Wolf from the Proselyte and his dog
Baxter in Boston.

ARH: Yes man! That's right! When you're working with the right
people, the egos are stripped and great things can be forged. Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts,
Bob!

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About Me

I have a finished novel, BEASTS AND CREATURE, and I'm drafting another novel, DON'T FEAR THE NIGHT DUENDE. I have a degree in fiction from the Northeast Ohio Master of Fine Arts program and my stories can be found in BIRD'S THUMB, ADANNA LITERARY JOURNAL and BLOOD LOTUS LITERARY BLOG. Long term projects include a book about noise and experimental music in Cleveland, Ohio and a memoir of consciousness. I perform and record both as a solo musician and in the bands Dead Peasant Insurance, Fascist Insect and Stark Holy MAA. I've been practicing yoga and magic for over fourteen years.